Trump Organization Lawyers Expect Indictments Tomorrow

New York prosecutors carefully weigh what criminal charges against the Trump Organization owned by former President Donald Trump and other organization officers will be filed. We are likely to see possible indictments filed for criminal charges that lead to former President Donald J. Trump, his three oldest children, and other Trump Officers. 

The starting gun is about to be fired. Tomorrow afternoon at around 2 pm according to Trump’s defense lawyers and other people familiar with the matter, the Manhattan district attorney’s office is expected to officially charge the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg with tax-related crimes on Thursday. This would mark the first criminal charges against the former president’s company since prosecutors began investigating it three years ago.

According to the Wall Street Journal…

“The charges against the Trump Organization and its longtime chief financial officer are a blow to former President Donald Trump, who has fended off multiple criminal and civil probes during and after his presidency. Mr. Trump himself isn’t expected to be charged, his lawyer said. Mr. Weisselberg has rejected prosecutors’ attempts at gaining his cooperation, according to people familiar with the matter.”

The defendants’ attorneys, and Mr. Weisselberg, and any other individuals named in the criminal indictment are expected to appear in court tomorrow afternoon and face charges related to allegedly evading taxes on fringe benefits.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office and New York state attorney general’s office have been investigating, among other crimes, whether Mr. Weisselberg and other employees illegally avoided paying taxes on perks such as cars, apartments, and private-school tuition—that they received from the Trump Organization.

Legal scholars and practicing criminal attorneys have opined that these criminal indictments will likely be just the beginning. The Manhattan DA’s prosecutors can show the Trump Organization and its executives systematically avoided paying taxes and or much more serious financial crimes systematically over the years, even continuously over many years. In that case, all involved could face a comprehensive criminal conspiracy case that could lead key individuals to face criminal prosecutions with jail sentences of more than 15 years on the state charges, assuming the U.S. Justice Department doesn’t step in to prosecute. 

While Trump has publicized his position to the press,  Mr. Weisselberg and his lawyers have yet to comment on the investigation or impending charges.

Like a broken record, Mr. Trump has denied wrongdoing. He insists the investigations being conducted and any prosecution materials are solely tied to a Democrat witch hunt and are politically motivated. Earlier in the week, Trump realized that indictments are imminent, said in a statement that the case is composed of…

 “Things that are standard practice throughout the U.S. business community, and in no way a crime.”

While they are right that businesses sometimes break the law in this way. They are not standard practice and are, in fact, felonies. Mr. Trump and his companies’ lawyers on Monday tried to persuade prosecutors not to charge the Trump Organization, arguing that charging a company over fringe benefits or employee compensation was unheard of.

The problem with that argument is that while it is rare to charge an individual or company for failure to pay taxes on employee benefits alone, these charges are often used as part of more significant cases. And with the Manhatten DA having a grand jury in place for the next five months, these first charges are likely to be the very tip of a significant prosecution with many additional criminal charges against the company and its executives that will come over the next several months.

American’s should understand that the tax-related investigation being charged tomorrow is just a small part of a broader criminal probe into whether the Trump Organization and its officers overvalued and undervalued its assets on loan, tax, and insurance documents for financial gain. According to the Wall Street Journal…

“The criminal probe, led by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, and civil probe, by the New York attorney general, have looked at financial dealing around some of the same properties, including Mr. Trump’s Seven Springs estate, in Westchester, N.Y., and the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago.”

The investigations by both offices are likely to continue. They could result in further criminal charges while there is also a risk the N.Y. Attorney General’s civil investigation could still result in a lawsuit against the Trump Organization or its officers. So, all involved could face many criminal charges and a series of indictments in the future.

                      Trump Organization Expected To Be Charged Tomorrow | MSNBC